Archives for November 2013

Easy Homemade Croutons

Happy Veteran’s Day! I am so very thankful for the men and women who served our country to give us our freedom. I don’t think that we show this enough all year. It’s a huge sacrifice to put your life on the line for people all around the country that you don’t even know and I am eternally grateful for those who have done so!

I’m a bit of a crazy salad person. I have been ever since high school. I love the crunch of crisp lettuce mixed with creamy dressing and other tasty components that go along with a salad. When we’re picking out a place to eat, my daughter will judge if I will like a restaurant by if they serve salad or not. And then she’ll say “Mom, you’ll love this place. They have salad!”. Thanks darling…

While I do like my salad, I also really like croutons. Like, really really like croutons. They are kinda like potato chips to me. Once I start, I can’t stop.

Do you have kiddos who don’t like the crust on their sandwiches? Or perhaps you make things that require you to cut off the crusts.

For instance:
Grilled Cheese Rollups
3-Ingredient Lady Fingers
White Bread Cinnamon Rolls

It’s recycling in a way. You can even freeze the crusts and make croutons later if you don’t have time right away. Just thaw them out before preparing to make croutons. How awesome is that?

Try to line them up and then just cut them into smaller pieces like above. They already look just like croutons don’t they? And in minutes they will be! Preheat the oven to 400°.

Spread them quite evenly onto a cookie sheet. Spray them well with olive oil cooking spray or butter cooking spray like me. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. I used italian seasoning and garlic powder.

Bake for about 4-8 minutes depending on your oven and you’re done. Store them in an airtight container and pop them out when you’re ready to eat a salad.

Or just eat handfuls of croutons…

….I don’t do that.

…Ok, maybe I do. Don’t judge.

Easy Homemade Croutons
Recipe Type: Salad Topping, Snack
Author: Pennywise Cook
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Here’s a double duty tip when you have leftover bread crusts. Make up a batch of healthy and homemade croutons!
Ingredients
  • Crusts cut off the bread of your choice
  • Seasonings of your choice (1 tsp italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp garlic powder are great!)
  • Cooking Spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Cut crusts into smaller square pieces or desired size.
  3. Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet.
  4. Sprinkle with seasonings.
  5. Bake for 4-8 minutes watching during baking to make sure they don’t burn. Mine took about 8 minutes.

 


Like this post? SHARE it!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Target: Capri Sun Super V for $.33 Per Pack

First of all, did you realize that you can print coupons from Pennywise Cook? Take a gander at the navigation bar at the top and hover over the coupons tab and there are TONS of them to choose from! I’m going to work on doing a better job of showing you some of the most fab ones that pop up.

I will begin with this $1 off any ONE Capri Sun 100% Juice or Super V coupon. At Target, you can grab these for only $.33 after the following little coupon maneuver. You will need to be able to print your coupons from 2 computers since there is a limit of 2 coupons per computer.

Buy (3) Capri Sun Super V Packs $3 each (on sale)= $9 Use (3) $1/1 printables= $6 Receive FREE $5 Target Gift Card Final Price= $1 or $.33 each!

Yes, my inner Saving with Amy has been raring her head lately since we are trying to save money. You may see a few more deals like these! I hope that you enjoy them.

Thanks to The Coupon Centsation for the deal!


Like this post? SHARE it!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Ideas for the Lunchbox: Grilled Cheese Rollups

The budget cuts aren’t just for the US government these days. Here at our house, we’re working on a new budget with the intent to save as much as humanly possible! I’ve always considered us a money-minded and frugal family, but we are working to try and be even more watchful about unnecessary spending.

Man, I really do sound like the US government now.

What is more frugal than a grilled cheese sandwich? Hmmm, I wonder if grilled cheese could be the answer to the US’s debt crisis?! Maybe if all the lawmakers up in Washington would agree to eat them, then we could start saving some REAL money around here. They could put them in their lunchboxes. Now THAT would be a sight!

I saw this idea over at Chin Deep as I was preparing some ideas for Addie’s lunchbox. I can’t claim I came up with these gems, but I knew I had to make them as she has recently found a deep love for grilled cheese. She gets that from her father. I hated them as a kid!

It all starts with some plain and simple sandwich bread. Whatever you can find or afford. Cut off all of the crust leaving as much of the meat of the bread as you can. You’ll also need the sliced cheese of your choice. I cut mine in half and then cut those halves 2 more times to equal about 8 small pieces from each slice.

It’s a pretty simple process. I spared you most of the step by step pictures as to not insult your intelligence. Place a piece of cheese on the very end. Roll. Add another little piece. Roll. And continue in this manner until you’ve come to the end of the bread. I used about 4 pieces for each of mine. Yours may differ depending on the size of your bread.

You can use a little bit of water on the end to help attach it and close it up for frying.

Heat up 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat.

This is where things get hot. The butter absorbs, the cheese melts, and the bread browns! It’s heavenly. It’s around 2 minutes or less on each side. You’ll just need to watch it and determine your favorite color of brown. 🙂

As a side note: you may need more butter depending on how many of these you are planning to make. The butter does absorb pretty quick so it’s possible you’ll have to refill a few times.

Voila! These are so simple and tasty. They would be great for eating with my Homemade Tomato Soup! These would also make a great finger food for a kid’s party.

UPDATE: After seeing how these fared in her lunchbox, we have decided that putting them in the microwave for a few seconds before placing them in the lunchbox helps. My Addie doesn’t prefer them to be cold, but room temp is fine. We’re going to keep trying and figure out a way to make them work. And if you have any ideas, they are surely welcome!

Ideas for the Lunchbox: Grilled Cheese Rollups

Recipe Type: Snack, Lunchbox

Cuisine: American

Author: Adapted a little from Chin Deep

A new way to enjoy grilled cheese and the perfect idea for the lunchbox!

Ingredients

  • 6 pieces white bread
  • 3 pieces sliced cheese of your choice
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Tomato soup or marina sauce for dipping (optional)

Instructions

  1. Remove the crusts from your bread leaving as much as you possibly can.
  2. Roll them flat with a rolling pin or with your preferred method of flattening.
  3. Cut your slices of cheese into smaller little slits. I was able to get about 8 out of each of my slices.
  4. Heat 2 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat.
  5. Layout your bread and place a piece of cheese longways on the edge of the bread. Roll inward. Place another piece of cheese and then roll inward again. Until you’ve come to the end of your bread. Using a little bit of water, try to crimp the end so it attaches and closes up the rollup. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just helps the frying process.
  6. Place the rollups in the skillet and fry each side for about 2 minutes or until desired brownness.
  7. Let cool on paper towels and serve with tomato soup or marina sauce!


Like this post? SHARE it!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Free Gooseberry Patch Kindle Cookbook!

With Thanksgiving only weeks away now (how is that EVEN possible?), the red carpet has been rolled out for all those yummy cobblers and pies!

I just came across this Gooseberry Patch Pies, Crisps, & Cobblers Kindle Book at Amazon for FREE. Anytime I come across these, I always download them straight to my iPad or Amazon Cloud for reference during the holidays or whenever. You can’t have too much ammunition in your cooking arsenal can you?

It’s normally just $.99 anyways, but free is always better right?

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please review my disclosure policy.

Like this post? SHARE it!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...